I wish you a merry Christmas
by parogoxon
Summary: Based on Scott Snyder's 'Dead of the Family' arc but with a few big changes. The Bat-Family has never been happier, but someone's not that happy. Every Yin has a Yang and to all good things must come an end. Reviews would be appreciated. First comic story! Rated T for mentions of gore and possible foul language
1. Love you

" _You want to hear a joke? Fine, let me tell you a joke,- wait change that, I'll tell you the biggest joke of all time. The biggest joke somebody ever told. It's that moment you realize that from the day you were born, you start to die. You start to fade out of existence. That's the fate of man. At least that's what my father always used to tell me, so I started to make memories. Memories never fade, you always keep them in your head. Well Gotham, let's make some memories."_

It was rainy that night, but that didn't stop two silhouettes from meeting up in the dark. One was slim, some would describe him as creepy. The other wasn't creepy anymore. This one defied normal words. This wasn't the face you'd see in your nightmares, this was the face you'd see when you closed your eyes and felt someone breathe on you. This was the face you'd see when you finally opened them only to discover a bloody knife lodged in your chest. This was the face of the devil himself.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I've known you were in some creepy stuff, but this excels a lot of what you did in the past." One said to the other. The other one nodded. "Can't you see that's the fun part about it? The whole idea? Let's face it Johnny, you, me, heck, Arkham, we're getting tired of this game. We're always losing, always. Today, my friend, today I suggest we don't anymore, I suggest we fight back. We'll take this city for ourselves." The other one replied gleefully. "And you,-" there was a pause. "Want to cut off your face to take over this city?" The other one shook his head and replied, sounding more irritated then before. "Don't you get it? All revolutions start at a turning point, my dear friend. This one is ours." "I'll warn you though, I wasn't trained for stuff like this, I don't think I should be,-" Jonathan slowly backed off, dropping his knife in the process "Afraid Johnny? That's weak, you out of all people. Fine then, I'll do it myself." The figure grabbed the knife and stuck it in his cheek, maintaining eye contact with Jonathan. The man known as The Joker didn't show a single sign of pain, just a big smile on his face."We'll start at the cheek, then slowly move over to the mouth. The other cheek…" He was mumbling to himself, slowly moving the knife according to his directions. "forehead, and we'll end at this cheek. Now we'll just make some holes for the mouth and eyes aaanndd taadaaa!" The figure grabbed his face and tore it off. "Look at it Johnny, look at it! Isn't it just gorgeous?" Jonathan just ran, was this fear? Was this panic? He didn't know, he just didn't want to know.

 _Daytime, Jezebel Plaza – Midtown Gotham, Bruce Wayne_

"You see anything you like, Dick?" Bruce asked. The street was cheerful and crowded, Christmas was almost upon Gotham and Bruce and Dick decided to shop for some gifts. "Oh, I see a lot! Money isn't an issue, right?" "Don't get cocky." Bruce replied, a smirk on his face. Dick ran off into 'Stacy's', one of Gotham's leading gift shops. "Wayne? Bruce Wayne? Can I get a picture? Please?" A girl ran towards him and hugged him firmly. "S-S-sure, I guess." The girl motioned towards someone. "Daddy, he said yes! Come, quickly!" A guy that looked like one of those stereotypical tourists came running towards them. "Tom Jones, Mister Wayne." He shook his hand. "And that's my daughter, Lily." Bruce smiled and nodded. Tom pulled out his camera and rested his hand on the picture button. "Well, you know what they say," Tom said.

" _Smile!"_

Tom's face began turning white, his eyebrows were turning green, and Tom was smiling, Tom was smiling way too hard. " _Come on, Bruce, Smile! Smile for the camera! Smile for this stinking city you're trying to protect! Smile while you still can!"_

Tom waved. "Hello? Excuse me, is everything ok? I wanted to thank you for the photo. I'm sure my daughter appreciated it." Bruce nodded and smiled and Tom and Lily walked off. Dick ran towards Bruce. He was holding several packages wrapped with gift paper. "Looks good, what did you get?" Bruce asked. "Nah-uh! No telling! You'll have to wait and see!" Bruce shrugged and they ran off towards the mansion.

 _Evening, Wayne Manor – Outskirts of Gotham City, Bruce Wayne_

The mansion had a nice, pleasant smell. "What did you cook, Alfred?"Bruce asked, hanging his coat. "Turkey for Tim, bacon for Dick, fish for Jason, vegan beef for Barbara and regular beef for you, Master Wayne." Bruce nodded. "Thank you Alfred, you should eat yourself, I'd recommend you'd join us." Alfred smiled. "While I do appreciate the offer, I'll eat with the other staff. Thank you, Master Wayne.

The food was exceptionally good. Aside from a few arguments between Jason and Tim, Tim and Dick, Barbara and Tim and Bruce and Tim there was a nice atmosphere. The Bat-Family hasn't seen a threat in a while and things were finally calming down. After dinner they decided to accompany each other to the living room where they would hand out presents.

"I want mine first!" Tim shouted, running towards the presents. "Easy there, big guy." Jason replied. They sat on a couch and rolled a dice as to decide who would get their presents first. It was an odd tradition, opening presents on Christmas Eve instead of the day after, Tim had suggested it once and the family hadn't thought of changing it. Jason rolled a six and was first to grab his present for someone. "I'll grab the one for Barbara." He said. Jason had bought Barbara a beautiful new laptop. "For all your Oracle operations." He winked. Barbara smiled and thanked him. The dice rolled on and the pile of presents grew smaller and smaller. Jason had gotten a sai for Tim, nun chunks for Dick and a Batman fan t-shirt for Bruce. Barbara had bought a shuriken for Tim, nun chunks for Dick, who albeit a bit akward, smiled and thanked her. Barbara grumpily looked at Jason, who winked at her once again. Bruce had gotten a new cellphone, filled with special software which allowed for Barbara to track the team easily.

The rest of the presents were nothing special, Tim had gotten a lot of new toys, Bruce had lost count of how many times Jason winked at people and Barbara just sat there smiling and thanking everyone. Finally it was Dick's turn. He handed his presents to the other members first, before handing the last one to Brue.

Bruce held a big box in his hand, roughly the size of a basketball. "What is it?" He asked, shaking it. "Open up! You have to see." Bruce roughly tore the paper away and discovered Dick had, indeed, given him a basketball. "It's tough to give presents to the guy who can just buy everything."

"You up for a game?" Bruce asked. Dick nodded and grabbed his coat. "You betcha!" It were times like this that Bruce was glad he had installed a basketball courtyard in the yard of the mansion. He grabbed the ball and bounced it on the concrete. The ball quickly fell apart. A silence doomed over the yard. "I strongly suggest checking the brand before buying other gifts." Bruce said. Dick awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Just as they were about to walk away, Bruce noticed a small photo that was in the middle of what was once the basketball Dick had gotten him. "You put a photo inside?" He asked. Dick shook his head. "Not that I know of." Bruce grabbed the picture off the ground.

The picture was of a small girl. She had been strapped in a chair and was in a room with blood on the walls. It appeared as if there was a face cut off and strapped onto that of the girl. The face was bloody, but paying close attention, Bruce could conclude that it was a face with a white skin tone. In the upper right corner of the picture had text written on it in lipstick.

" _Lily's nOthing without daddy, it makes her VEry sad. YOU eXcited yet? cOme Join us!"_

Barbara joined Bruce and gasped. "Who could've done this?" Bruce noticed the different lettering on a few letters and read the real message it was trying to tell.

 _LOVE YOU XO J_

 ** _Hope you enjoyed so far. I know some characters might be off and/or missing, but I'm also thinking of reintroducing some characters with different origins, and yeah, this is young/Teen Titans Tim. He never grew up for me haha._**


	2. Welcome to the madhouse

" _Welcome to Arkham Asylum. Press one to request a call with one of our patients, press two to request a call with a member of our staff team, press three to,-"_ Bruce sighed. He knew the number he had to press thanks to the many times he already had to call the asylum.

" _You have requested to call a member of our staff team. After the tone, please state the name of the staff member of your choice as clearly as possible."_ "Jim Gordon." Bruce said.

"Master Wayne?" Alfred voice echoed across the hallway. "Shall I prepare another meal?" "Not now, Alfred." Bruce replied. "As you wish." The line was silent for a few moments.

" _What the, who is this? It's Christmas."_

"Jim, I need you to execute a lockdown in Arkham Asylum, I strongly believe the Joker broke out."

" _What? Who are you? Why should I believe you?"_

"A friend, I'll be there soon." Bruce ended the call

 _Arkham Asylum, Arkham Island_

Batman stepped out of the Batmobile and gazed at the gothic building in front of him. Arkham Asylum had been home to Gotham's most notorious criminals for years, some of them were even 'born' here such as Harley Quinn or the Scarecrow. Despite criminals entering and being freed there was always only one man in charge and it wasn't the warden. Batman opened the cold, metallic doors to the building and walked past the reception office. The first few times the lady behind the desk wanted to ask him his name, but she knew better now.

He opened another door and was greeted by a familiar face. "You made the call? I should've known." Jim Gordon said. Gotham hadn't been kind to him. His hair had turned grey at a rapid pace and it seemed that every day his cigarette addiction grew worse. "I want to see Joker's cell." Batman said. "Sure, sure. Let me just get the guards necessary for even seeing that damn cell." Gordon left his office and Batman followed suit.

"Excuse me for the lack of staff right now. We've got a team out there for picking up Calendar Man. It's funny actually, you know. Each holiday we position extra security around his cell and every damn holiday the guy escapes. Makes you wonder why he only does it on holidays, right?" Jim's question was greeted by silence. "Why'd you want to see Joker anyway?" He asked as they passed a long hallway. "He kidnapped a little girl. Last I heard he was locked up in here." Batman answered. "Heck, I saw that psycho yesterday. I can assure you, he's here."

"Copper, Cash! You're coming with me!" Jim shouted down the hallway. Sure enough, a few seconds later, officer Copper and officer Cash came running down the hallway. "What do you need sir?" Cash asked. "We're going to have to check up on Joker. Our friend here believes him to be free. "Sure." Copper said. The four of them stopped at a small panel located on a wall. _"Hand scan required."_ It said.

Jim placed his hand on the panel. " _Hand scan confirmed. Voice scan required."_ Jim moved closer to the panel "Barbara." He spoke. " _Voice scan confirmed. Eye scan required."_ Jim moved his eye closer to the panel. " _Eye scan confirmed. Welcome detective Gordon."_ "I-is this really necessary?" Copper asked. A door had suddenly unlocked and Jim walked through it. "Yes. This guy, this thing, this monster is one of Gotham's worst if not the worst. I actually insisted we still need more security measures around this guy."

The door had given access to what was described as ' _solitary'._ They had entered a room that had a vague green aura around it. Above eye level was some sort of rail attached. "What's all this?" Copper asked. "This is how we keep the more dangerous inmates locked up." Cash said. "You go to the panel, you state your inmate and their 'cell' will arrive on rails. It's not the most humane system, but these monsters right here are anything but human." "Patient 001, the Joker." Jim spoke to the panel. It had registered his voice and was now busy looking for his cell. "Behind this wall we have a huge area of these new rail cells." Cash explained. "Villains like Scarecrow or Poison Ivy are locked up in here to prevent them being a danger to other inmates." Copper nodded, although his eyes suggested he didn't understand any of it.

A few seconds later, what appeared to be a small metal box arrived in the rail. The box was tall, mostly. It looked way too small to be a cell. Batman tried to look in Jim's eyes if this was truly the cell they were keeping him. Jim looked back and simply nodded, his eyes hinting at a sense of shame. Everyone would go crazy in cells like these. "Now remember men, I want guns pointed towards that door at all times. Batman, you want to open it?" Batman could see Jim was afraid, afraid of what might be lurking inside the box. Batman walked towards the box and slammed the door open.

..

..

"No…" Jim whispered under his breath. The cell was empty. A guard was dangling on a rope attached to the ceiling. _"Isn't Christmas just to die for?"_ Was written in blood on one of the walls. Jim turned around to Copper and Cash. "Lockdown, immediately! Hurry up!" He shouted, his face red of anger.

" _Arkham Asylum is now in lockdown, no patients or staff are to leave or enter the establishment. We thank you for your cooperation."_ A voice spoke over the intercom.

"It's no use Jim, he probably already escaped." Batman said. Jim sat on a chair and was pressing his hands against his head. "I know, I know. Standard procedure is that we check the entire Asylum for any sign as to where he could've gone too. And who knows? With a mind like his I wouldn't be surprised if he came back." "Something else is bothering you." Batman stated. "That obvious?" Jim asked. "It's just that, you've seen the security here. It would be impossible to get out. It had to be an inside job and quite frankly I don't like the idea of a corrupt staff member." Batman nodded. Cash walked in again. "Entire Asylum has been checked sir. No sign of Joker. Camera's show no hint as to where he might've been. All patients are accounted for and in their cells." Jim stood up. "Lift the lockdown, let's find him." Cash nodded and walked out the door.

" _Arkham Asylum is no longer in lockdown."_ The same voice said. "You should probably get going." Jim said. "I'll,-"

" _Arkham Asylum is now in lockdown, no patients or staff are to leave or enter the establishment. We thank you for your cooperation."_

"What the,- Cash! I said lifted!" Jim shouted. 

" _DID YOU NOW?! JIMBO!?"_ The voice suddenly roared over the intercom. " _WELL, I'M SAYING LOCKDOWN! Oh come on, what's nicer then this? All my favorite people in the whole wide world under one roof. I think I might shed a tear. HahAHAHhahAHA!"_

"Joker." Batman concluded. "Where's the girl?!" _"The girl? Oh right, that one. Well I, I honestly have no idea. Little minx escaped when I wasn't looking. But I wouldn't be worried about the girl if I were you, Bats! Nooohoo, I would worry about yourself for starters, or how about that sweet little family of yours?"_ "I swear, if you get anywhere near them." Batman talked through gritted teeth. _"You'll what? You'll kill me?! I'd like to see you try! Well, don't worry. I have a HUGE task list at hand. Number one? Correcting my mistake. Bye Bats! Oh, and before I forget, I want to make clear that no one is safe now, you hear me? I'm tired of this game we've been playing, right now you're either called the Joker or you die. So you just be a good little bat and stay right here while I'm going to have some fun, HAHAahahHAHA!"_

"Correcting my mistake?" Batman pondered. "Correcting, correcting,-" Something suddenly clicked. "Jim, we need to find a way out of here. Order your men back. He's going after Jason Todd."

 **A/N : Thanks for the reviews so far :). At the anon, I've seen the technique used a few times but I personally don't like how it reads, it disrupts the 'flow' of a conversation if you will. Thanks for your criticism though, I have been trying to split the story into more paragraphs so I do hope that helps reading.**


	3. Correcting a Mistake

_Okay, so get this. Once upon a time, far, far away, there was a small scorpion. Now this scorpion, he was reckless, wanted to explore the world for himself, wanted to sting as many people as he possibly could. You still following? Good. Now this scorpion was out there exploring when suddenly, BAM! He tripped and fell in a river. Now, you have to understand, scorpions can't swim, the little guy would drown. A slow, painful death if you ask me. Just as the scorpion was about to close his eyes and accept his fate, a bat comes flying in and saves the scorpion out of the water! Just like that! And as they're soaring through the sky, the scorpion stings the bat. The bat immediately stops flying and crashes into the river. As they make their descent, the bat asks "Why'd you do that? Now we both die!" And the scorpion? The scorpion leans in very closely and says : "That's the point! Suckah!"_

 _Wayne Manor, Present day_

"Alfred, you heard anything from Bruce yet?" Tim asked, playing with his newly received toys. "Not yet, master Tim. I'm sure it's going to be a long night. You should get to bed." Alfred stated. "I won't go anywhere until we've heard from Bruce." Tim argued. Alfred simply sighed and headed back towards the kitchen. Tim had been worried ever since Bruce left towards Arkham. This was way too simple, Joker would know Bruce was headed towards Arkham, this had to be a trap. Then again, this was Batman we were talking about. Batman would've known that Joker would've known, right? Or would Joker have known that Batman would've known that Joker would've know,- "Tim, you worried?" Barbara asked.

"A little." Tim said under his breath. "It's Bruce, he'll make it out okay. You really shouldn't worry." Barbara smiled. She had always had this calm aura around her. If Barbara was calm people around her were calm, that was just the way the world worked. Tim liked that about her. "Miss Gordon, if I may have a moment?" Alfred had suddenly appeared beside Barbara. "I believe you should see something." Barbara nodded and Alfred pushed her down a hallway. "What is it?" Barbara asked. "Arkham Asylum is currently in a state of lockdown." "So?" "Master Bruce is still inside." Barbara looked down, looked over her shoulder at Tim and sighed. "It probably has something to do with Joker, I wouldn't worry about it too much." Alfred nodded and pushed her back in the living room.

"Jason, could you check the news?" Tim asked. Jason was sitting on a sofa holding the remote. Jason didn't reply and simply changed the channel to the news broadcast.

" _This is Vicky Vale, reporting live from Arkham Asylum, where a lockdown has just occurred. The cause of the lockdown is as of yet unknown but sources have stated they saw Batman entering just before it occurred, coincidence? I think not. We'll be bringing you more on the lockdown as more information is released."_

Barbara had arrived in the living room. Tim looked at her. "You knew?" He asked. Barbara simply nodded. "Alfred just told me." What Tim didn't know is that Barbara and Bruce had an unwritten rule, Bruce was supposed to contact Barbara every two hours while on a mission, just so she would know he was okay. Bruce hadn't contacted Barbara in three hours.

The television suddenly went static. Between the black and white stripes a large green "J" was visible. "What the?" Jason stood up. "Barbs, you and Tim need to stay here, I'll go check outside to see what's wrong." Jason put on his coat and walked outside.

He had been outside for quite a few minutes when the static stopped. The television now displayed what looked like a picture of Wayne Manor. Barbara gasped. The picture started moving and it soon became apparent that this wasn't a photo, someone was filming. "Tim, head to Jason and tell him that someone's recording outside the manor." Tim ran outside. The camera on the television was closing in on Wayne Manor. Barbara squinted and could see Jason and Tim talking. "Is everything alright, Miss Gordon?" Alfred asked. Barbara shook her head. "Look."

 _Arkham Asylum, Present day_

Bruce had been trying to contact Barbara for a while now, but something inside the Asylum disrupted the signal. "Correcting his mistake? What was that all about?" Gordon asked. "A few years ago, Joker tried to beat Jason to death with a crowbar. It worked but thanks to a few, 'factors' Jason was brought back to live. I believe he is attempting to finish what he started. Joker plans to kill Jason Todd." Gordon reached for his cigarettes and lit one. "Gordon, is there any way to override the lockdown?" Batman asked. Gordon nodded. "But if someone is just gonna put it back in lockdown status it won't do anything." "I'm going to try if I can find any other exists. Knowing the Asylum, it wouldn't surprise me if there are a few we haven't heard of." Batman left the room.

Gordon was still contemplating. Correcting a mistake. Batman had thought it would be about Jason Todd. Were there any other mistakes Joker had made in his career? … … Something in Gordon's head suddenly clicked. He dropped his cigarette and followed Batman.

 _Wayne Manor, Present day_

The camera still moved in on the Manor. Barbara had tried contacting Tim and Jason but neither of them were picking up. It had made a sudden move towards the kitchen area and entered the manor by climbing through one of the windows. How could Jason and Tim not have seen this? The camera man slowly entered the kitchen area and looked around. There was no mistaking it. He was in the house. The figure slowly moved towards the freezer area and opened it. Barbara nearly fainted.

 _Gordon Residence, 10 years ago_

"Dad, your work called. They're promoting you for the work you did on the Maroni case." Jim folded his trench coat on the sofa and sat beside Barbara. "That's…great." Jim said, smoking a cigarette. Barbara had always wanted her father to quit, but every attempt she made had no use. "I've got an idea!" Barbara gleefully stated and walked towards the kitchen. "I suggest,-"Barbara grabbed two glasses and opened up a bottle. "We toast to that!" Jim couldn't help but smile as he saw his daughter arriving with two glasses of wine. She had grown up to be a woman he could be proud of. Nighttime had arrived in Gotham and people were headed back to their houses. The lights illuminated the apartment quite nicely. It hadn't been much but it was all Jim could afford at the moment, the GCPD wasn't exactly a high-earning job. The bell rang. "I'll get it." Jim stood up and moved towards the door. "No way, you stay put! You deserve some rest, I'll go get it. Quite a late time to be making house visits though." Barbara said and smiled as she walked towards the door. Jim hadn't regretted much in his life, aside from that moment. Everything would've been so different if he had just answered the door. He never got quite a good look at what happened. All he heard was a gunshot and his daughter falling to the ground, and when he looked toward the door. All he could see was a big, smiling face. Barbara had been a cripple ever since.

 _Wayne Manor, Present day_

A huge pile of body's was located inside the freezer area. Barbara recognized them as staff she sometimes saw working in the kitchen. She gasped. Who could've done this? No one had entered the kitchen. The camera entered the freezer area and turned around. A man was sitting on the ground, bound and gagged. Barbara recognized the man, it was a face she had known all too well. She suddenly felt two cold hands on her shoulders. "You-You're not Alfred, are you?" Barbara asked.

 **A/N *Evil cliffhanger music right here* This was honestly not a situation I had planned out but once it found its way into my mind I just had to write it. This has to be my favorite chapter I've written so far. So yeah, as always, please leave a review. They are what's helping me to continue this story!**


	4. So let's go after Wheels

_Wayne Manor, Present day_

"You know you can't keep doing this." Tim said. He looked down at his feet. "I know, Bruce wants me to." Tim simply nodded, still staring at his feet. "He does because he thinks it'll make me happy. Quite frankly it's just awkward, seeing you every Christmas pretending nothing's going on. It needs to end, Jason. You're either a part of the family or you're not. Family sticks together, they don't just leave whenever they feel like it." Jason nodded, looking around for potential signs of the intruder. "I get it, and you're right. This needs to st,-" Jason was interrupted by static originating from Tim's communicator. Tim checked it and saw it was Bruce trying to contact him. "Hello?" He asked _._

" _Ti,-zzz. Jok,- after famil- zzzzz.."_

"Bruce, I can't hear you. We're on lookout for Joker, yeah. Don't worry about it. Jason, Barbara and Alfred are helping me guard the manor. I'm going to hang up now, we'll get him Bruce. We'll get you out of there." Tim responded and ended the call.

Jason's eyes squinted and he kept staring at a small tree in the yard. "What is it?" Tim asked. "Humming." Jason whispered and he gestured for Tim to be quiet. "Grayson! That you?" Jason asked. The humming continued. The duo slowly approached the tree.

" _Two little Robin's sitting in the nest, one's'alive and one's supposed to be dead. One's still a child and one won't die. Guess both of 'em will have to say goodbye!"_ The voice started singing.

Jason reached in his pocket and before Tim could stop him shot at the tree. The singing however, didn't stop.

" _Now my Puddin's quite the man, he'll kill ya in no time, no time? No time, absolutely no time. He'll slice your throat, while I distract. Come, quick Puddin! Let's kill the Bat!"_

"Jason! What the hell!" Tim shouted. Jason put his gun away. "Harley? You there?" Tim shouted.

" _But the Bat won't die, the butler isn't saying goodbye!"_ Harley sang as high as possible. _"Still making his meals so we'll go after Wheels!"_

The song ended in static and Tim realized they had been listening to a recording. Before Tim could figure out Joker was going after Barbara, Jason had already begun his sprint to the mansion. "Damn clowns, we should've shot them, all of them! The moment we had the chance!" Jason shouted. He slammed the door open and found Barbara with a gun pointed to her head.

"So nice of you to drop in." The man,- the monster behind Barbara spoke. "I was getting rather worried." "Wh-where's Alfred?" Tim asked, finally catching up with Jason. "Permanently put out of business." Joker giggled as he ripped his face off. He had made some sort of cut-out mask out of Alfred's face. "Guess this is more Hush's thing than mine, but come on! It's got quite the charm, doesn't it? HahAHA!"

"Let her go." Jason spoke through gritted teeth. Tim had been silent, Alfred couldn't have died. He faced worse, the trustworthy butler had always protected the manor with his life, no way he could've died. "Oh dear, if you put it like that. I'll have to think about it!" Joker laughed. "No, little Robins, you are going to let US go, or Wheeler Dealer here gets a bullet in her head! I won't miss twice!"

 _Arkham Asylum, Present day_

"Bruce, Bruce, you copy?" Dick asked. He immediately left after seeing the news bulletin regarding the lockdown. "Bruce?" He asked again. Arkham Asylum was quite a distance from the manor. Bruce wouldn't mind that Dick borrowed the Batmobile, would he?

"Copy. What are you doing in the Batmobile?" Bruce asked. "How did you – Ah, my frequency, right. I thought you wouldn't mind." Dick said, flashing a cocky smile. "I do." Bruce replied. "Did you leave Jason and the others to themselves?" "Not to themselves. Tim, Barb and Alfred are all guarding the mansion right now. No one's going in or out, last time I checked the security defenses are still online. What's going on at the Asylum? Why are you still in there?"

"Full lockdown, Joker caused it. I designed the protocols for the lockdown myself, there's virtually no way out. I designed it to keep Gotham's most dangerous rogues in here. I'll have to find a new exit. Dick, Joker's going after Jason."

Dick nodded and drove a little faster. "I'll see what I can do from the outside. Don't worry about Jason, he'll be safe." Dick assured him.

 _Downtown Gotham, in front of the My Alibi Nightclub._

Harley observed everything through her camera. It was all going according to plan. The little boy blunders fell for it and mister J was able to infiltrate the mansion. This was great. Ever since they got that anonymous tip on Batman's identity Joker had been different. At first he was bummed, he never really wanted to know who was behind the mask, and now that he did. Well, it ruined the mystique a little. Shortly after, however, he realized all the opportunities this opened up for him. This could finally be the one thing he was looking for. A never ending game with Batman, and he could drag in the whole darn family as well! He was finally smiling again, life was good for Harley.

"Ex,-excuse me, miss?" A little girl approached her. "What is it? I'm busy here." Harley spoke, rather annoyed. She turned off her laptop, Joker was in anyway. "Sorry!" The little girl whispered. "I'd better go." Harley stopped her. "What's the matter, kiddo?" "I,- I lost my father. Can't find him anywhere. I was wondering if you could take me to the nearest GCPD station?" "What's yer name?" Harley asked, the little girl looked familiar. "Lily, Lily Powell." The girl replied, tears covering her face. Nope, didn't ring a bell, Harley thought. "Look, we can't exactly go to the GCPD for, well, a various number of reasons. But I'll tell you what, we'll look for your father together! Alrite?" Harley asked. The girl had grown on her. She wiped away the girl's tears and took her hand.


End file.
